Last week, chef Sharon Hage sent out the last plates at York
Street, the Old East Dallas restaurant that has been her passion
and a favorite of Dallas food lovers since she bought it in
2001.

When news of the restaurant's imminent closure broke Wednesday,
it felt like a punch in the gut to York Street's legions of fans.
Grief seemed to hit in four stages: shock, sadness, gratitude for
what Hage has done for Dallas dining and excited anticipation about
what she'll do next.

The restaurant was widely considered to be one of the city's
best, as well as one of its most innovative and influential.

"I think York Street is on the Top 5 list of just about everyone
who appreciates good food," said Stephan Pyles, chef-owner of
another of the city's most revered dining rooms, in a phone
interview last week. Of Hage, he said, "She's a pioneer and has
championed the locavore movement."

Hage, 46, said she was closing the restaurant for personal
reasons. "I just need a break. I've been very, very fortunate this
last 9 ½ years," she said, "and particularly in this
economy. My business has remained strong, and people are still
interested in what we're doing."

The Detroit-born chef is well-known for her dedication to
working with local farmers and purveyors to procure the best
ingredients at the peak of their seasonality. Never flashy or
gimmicky, her cooking at York Street was deceptively simple.

If her dishes were sometimes so delicious they could bring
conversation to a halt - as in a preternaturally tender braised
rabbit dish earlier this fall - it was thanks not only to those
superlative ingredients, but also to her deep understanding of
flavor and her accomplished and careful technique.

"Her voice is very original," said Julian Barsotti, chef-owner
of Nonna, the Park Cities Italian restaurant.

"It's hard to pinpoint her style," he added, but "it's
unmistakably her food." He waxed poetic about a tomato salad he
once had there. He couldn't remember the ingredients, but "it
completely spoke to the height of those ingredients and combined
them in an intuitive way."

"I think it's very American and it's very local Texas," Dean
Fearing said of Hage's style. Fearing is chef-owner of Fearing's at
the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas.

York Street's success wasn't only thanks to what appeared on the
plate. People responded to it because it was such a personal
restaurant, one that was a source of tremendous pride for residents
of Lakewood and Old East Dallas.

"When you arrived, you always felt so welcome and comfortable,"
said Marianne Howells, coordinator for KRLD Restaurant Week and a
Lakewood resident. "You knew you were in a world-class restaurant,
but you also knew you were five minutes from your home."

Hage, she said, "always did something in such a thoughtful
way."

That attitude was reflected on the restaurant's website, which
featured quirky pages not just about Hage, her sous chefs and her
manager, but also about the restaurant's receptionists, waiters and
even a waiter assistant (Oscar R. Cabrera, an Aries from Merida,
Mexico, whose favorite color is yellow).

One of the charming personal touches was the complimentary
aperitif offered as guests were seated: a glass of riesling or
sherry perhaps. The service was always warm and engaged.

"That's one of the things that's missing in Dallas," Pyles said,
"the small neighborhood restaurant that's doing remarkable stuff.
She brought that to Dallas."

Of course, York Street attracted people beyond its
neighborhood.

"People loved that it was on Lewis and hard to find the first
time you went there," Fearing said. He liked the walk to the front
door of the quirky-looking, free-standing building on a ramshackle
corner.

"It kind of reminded me of France," he said, "those funky little
places over there that served great food. It wasn't the building
itself. It was the fact that the food drew everybody in."

The restaurant achieved national acclaim when Hage was nominated
for the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef: Southwest award in 2004
(and then again for the next five years running). York Street
earned four stars from The Dallas Morning News in 2007, and Hage
was included in its Best in DFW: Chefs story last month.

"I don't have any plans for the immediate future," Hage said
last week, but the chefs who know her seem confident that she will
be back on the scene before too long.

"I think it's sad that her restaurant is closing, but it'll be
exciting to see what she'll be doing in six months," said Scott
Gottlich, chef-owner of Bijoux.

"While Sharon had great, talented assistants, I always saw her
as a one-woman show," reflected Pyles. "While that can be
rewarding, it's also exhausting. I'm not surprised she needs a
break."

He recalled that in his own career, after 10 years spent working
at a frantic pace, he took a year off. "It made a huge difference,"
he said. "It gave me the time to reflect and refresh and think of
new ideas and concepts."

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About Leslie Brenner

Restaurant critic Leslie Brenner brings a wealth of experience and exacting standards to the job. Her reviews and dining features appear Fridays in Guide. Leslie is an accomplished restaurant critic, author and editor. Leslie previously directed restaurant, cooking and wine coverage as food editor for the Los Angeles Times’ award-winning section. She was also a restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times and founding editor of The Daily Dish food blog. She is author or co-author of five food and wine books, including The Fourth Star: Dispatches From Inside Daniel Boulud’s Celebrated New York Restaurant.and American Appetite, as well as a critically acclaimed novel, Greetings From the Golden State. She has won a long list of writing and editing awards, including honors from the Association of Food Journalists and the James Beard Foundation. During her 20-year career, she has also been a contributing editor at Travel + Leisure and has written for Harper's, New York magazine and many other print and online publications. Follow Leslie on Twitter @lesbren.

Hometown: Los Angeles

Education: Leslie has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Stanford University and a Master of Fine Arts in writing from Columbia University.